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AUSTIN — In his first interview since acquittal, Attorney General Ken Paxton said, without proof, that his impeachment was a collusion between Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, Democratic state lawmakers and the Biden administration to have him removed from office.
He also teased that he could run for the U.S. Senate in 2026 for the seat held by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who he attacked as a “puppet of the Bush” family.
“Everything is on the table for me,” Paxton said in the 45-minute interview that streamed on social media. “I think it’s time for somebody to step up and run against this guy.”
Cornyn’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night when the attorney general’s interview with Tucker Carlson was released.
His sit-down interview with the former Fox News host who was fired in April was the first time Paxton addressed his historic impeachment trial in depth. He was absent Saturday — and for much of the trial — when Senators voted not to remove him from office.
The Senate acquitted Paxton of all 16 impeachment articles Saturday, the latest example of his resiliency in a political career plagued by scandals. Four other articles were dismissed.
The House accused the state’s top cop of sweeping corruption, abuse of office, bribery and obstruction of justice by interfering in an FBI investigation into real estate investor Nate Paul. Paxton has denied any wrongdoing.
Paxton spoke openly with Carlson about an impeachment process that he said was secret and flawed from the beginning. The attorney general, however, lashed out at other state officials.
He criticized Comptroller Glenn Hegar for ruling that Paxton could not be paid while he was suspended from duties. He attacked the gag order Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick placed on all parties during the impeachment trial.
Carlson served as a sympathetic listener and interviewer. They discussed Karl Rove, the former top political strategist for Republican President George W. Bush, and accused him of being a liberal. They accused Phelan of being drunk on the job back in May, even though there has not been any proof of the speaker being intoxicated then.
The interview, however, did not touch on the accusations against Paxton that led to his impeachment or his 10-day trial. The trial included testimony from seven of the eight former deputies that reported their boss to the FBI, and details of an alleged affair Paxton had a few years ago.
One of the few times he talked about the proceedings directly was in denying that he has a mistrust of law enforcement, as one of his top deputies said during the trial.
“I’m against corrupt law enforcement,” Paxton said. “I’m not against law enforcement.”
Paxton seemed more eager to talk about unproven allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election, COVID vaccine mandates and other issues popular in conservative media.
In a separate interview with Texas conservative political activist Michael Quinn Sullivan that was released around the same time Wednesday evening, Paxton alluded to challenges in his personal life. Underlying the impeachment articles were allegations that Paxton provided favors for Paul who, in return, gave a job to a woman with whom the attorney general was allegedly having an affair. Paxton hasn’t directly addressed the extramarital accusation but has denied his dealings with Paul were unlawful.
“Obviously, I’ve got issues I’ve got to deal with in my personal life, and I’m responsible for those,” Paxton told Sullivan. “But the Texas House is responsible for impeaching somebody who’s violated the law.”
His acquittal is not the end of his legal troubles. He could soon face trial for his years-long felony state charges, a reportedly ongoing grand jury investigation, an ongoing whistleblower lawsuit and a legal ethics complaint.
The attorney general ended the Carlson interview by saying he is “reenergized” following his impeachment saga.
“I’ve been thinking about what I want to do since the day I left,” Paxton said.